U.S. patent number 7,627,305 [Application Number 11/105,441] was granted by the patent office on 2009-12-01 for systems and methods for adding information to a directory stored in a mobile device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Wireless Science, LLC. Invention is credited to Richard J. Helferich.
United States Patent |
7,627,305 |
Helferich |
December 1, 2009 |
Systems and methods for adding information to a directory stored in
a mobile device
Abstract
In one aspect, the present invention provides systems and
methods for adding information to a directory stored in a mobile
device.
Inventors: |
Helferich; Richard J.
(Encinitas, CA) |
Assignee: |
Wireless Science, LLC
(Chatsworth, CA)
|
Family
ID: |
27383506 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/105,441 |
Filed: |
April 14, 2005 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20050176451 A1 |
Aug 11, 2005 |
|
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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10958731 |
Oct 6, 2004 |
|
|
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09408841 |
Sep 30, 1999 |
6826407 |
|
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60126939 |
Mar 29, 1999 |
|
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60155055 |
Sep 21, 1999 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
455/403; 725/114;
455/418; 455/415; 455/414.1; 455/413; 455/412.1; 379/88.13;
379/457; 379/354; 379/210.01; 379/114.13; 370/352; 707/999.01;
707/999.001; 705/7.11 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L
51/36 (20130101); H04M 3/5307 (20130101); G06Q
10/063 (20130101); H04W 4/12 (20130101); H04L
12/6418 (20130101); H04L 51/00 (20130101); H04W
88/184 (20130101); H04L 2012/6472 (20130101); Y10S
707/99931 (20130101); H04L 2012/6483 (20130101); H04W
92/02 (20130101); H04L 2012/6475 (20130101); H04M
1/72436 (20210101); H04M 1/2757 (20200101); H04L
2012/6481 (20130101); H04L 51/38 (20130101); H04W
88/08 (20130101); H04L 2012/6421 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
17/30 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;455/403,413,414.1,415,418,439,458,466,412.1
;379/88.13,114.13,210.01,354,457,88.03,355.02 ;370/352,466 ;705/8
;770/10 ;725/114 ;709/201 ;707/1 |
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Primary Examiner: Cumming; William D
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Steven G. Lisa, Ltd. Kappes; Jon E.
Rudy; Douglas W.
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 10/958,731 filed Oct. 6, 2004 (status: pending), which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/408,841 filed
Sep. 30, 1999 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,826,407), which claims the
benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/126,939, filed
Mar. 29, 1999, and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.
60/155,055, filed Sep. 21, 1999. All of the above mentioned
applications are hereby incorporated herein by this reference.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A cellular phone including a system that adds contact
information to a directory stored in a memory of the cellular
phone, the system comprising: a radio receiver coupled to a
processor and the memory, wherein the radio receiver is configured
to receive a visual message that includes contact information in
the visual message body transmitted to the cellular phone using a
Global System for Mobile communications ("GSM") cellular phone
network, and the processor configured to store the message in the
memory; and the processor further configured to parse the received
visual message and add at least a portion of the contact
information from the visual message body to the directory.
2. The cellular phone of claim 1, wherein the visual message is
transmitted to the cellular phone using an electronic mail
system.
3. The cellular phone of claim 1, wherein the contact information
includes an address.
4. The cellular phone of claim 3, wherein the address is an
electronic mail address.
5. The cellular phone of claim 1, wherein the radio receiver
includes an antenna that is configured to receive and transmit
information wirelessly.
6. The cellular phone of claim 1, wherein the processor is
configured to automatically add the contact information to the
directory if the visual message includes contact information.
7. A cellular communication device including a system that adds
contact information to a directory stored in a memory of the
cellular communication device, the system comprising: a radio
receiver coupled to a processor and the memory, wherein the radio
receiver is configured to receive a visual message that includes
contact information in the visual message body transmitted to the
cellular communication device using a GSM cellular phone network;
the processor coupled to the memory and configured to store the
message in the memory; the processor configured to provide, via a
user interface, an option to add at least a portion of the contact
information from the visual message body to the directory; and the
processor further configured to add at least a portion of the
contact information from the visual message body to the directory
upon the option being selected.
8. The cellular communication device of claim 7, wherein the visual
message is transmitted to the cellular communication device using
an electronic mail system.
9. The cellular communication device of claim 7, wherein the
contact information includes an address.
10. The cellular communication device of claim 9, wherein the
address comprises an electronic mail address.
11. The cellular communication device of claim 7, wherein the radio
receiver includes an antenna that is configured to receive and
transmit information wirelessly.
12. The cellular phone of claim 1 wherein the visual message
comprises an email.
13. The cellular communication device of claim 7 wherein the visual
message comprises an email.
14. A method of adding contact information to a directory stored in
a memory of a cellular phone comprising: receiving a visual message
that includes contact information in the visual message body via
radio frequency communication using a GSM cellular phone network
and storing the visual message in the memory; operating a processor
in the cellular phone to parse the visual message to obtain the
contact information from the visual message body and to add at
least a portion of the contact information from the visual message
body to the directory.
15. The method of claim 14 further comprising receiving the visual
message via at least an electronic mail system.
16. The method of claim 14 wherein the visual message comprises an
email.
17. The method of claim 14 further comprising receiving an address
as at least a portion of the visual message.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein the addresses comprises an
electronic mail address.
19. The method of claim 14 further comprising receiving the visual
message via an antenna coupled to the cellular phone.
20. The method of claim 14 further comprising automatically adding
the contact information to the directory.
21. A method of adding contact information to a directory stored in
a memory of a the cellular communication device comprising:
receiving a visual message that includes contact information in the
visual body via radio frequency communication using a GSM cellular
phone network and storing the visual message in the memory;
operating a processor in the mobile communication device to
provide, via a user interface, an option to add at least a portion
of the contact information from the visual message body to the
directory; and operating the processor to add at least a portion of
the contact information from the visual message body to the
directory when the option to do so has been selected.
22. The method of claim 21 further comprising receiving the visual
message via at least an electronic mail system.
23. The method of claim 21 wherein the visual message comprises an
email.
24. The method of claim 21 wherein the contact information
comprises an address.
25. The method of claim 24 wherein the address comprises an
electronic mail address.
26. The method of claim 21 further comprising receiving the visual
message via an antenna coupled to the cellular phone.
27. The cellular phone of claim 1, where in the processor is
further configured to automatically parse the received visual
message and automatically add the contact information to the
directory.
28. The method of claim 14 further comprising operating a processor
in the cellular phone to automatically parse the visual message to
obtain the contact information and automatically add at least a
portion of the contact information to the directory.
29. The cellular phone of claim 1, wherein the radio receiver is
further configured to receive the visual message via Short Message
Service ("SMS").
30. The cellular communication device of claim 7, wherein the radio
receiver is further configured to receive the visual message via
SMS.
31. The method of claim 14, where the receiving a visual message
comprises receiving an SMS message.
32. The method of claim 21, where the receiving a visual message
comprises receiving a Short Message Service ("SMS") message.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to communication systems
such as voice paging systems, cellular telephone systems, text
paging systems, voice mail systems, and conventional land line
telephone systems and, more specifically, to methods, systems and
apparatus for non-real-time audio and visual messaging between two
messaging devices wherein a communication device receives visual
messages from a visual message originator device and transmits
audio messages (e.g., voice messages) to the visual message
originator device for playback.
2. Discussion of the Background
A conventional mobile communication device (MCD), such as a pager
or a mobile telephone, can receive various types of messages. There
are numeric pagers which receive only numbers such as a telephone
numbers (i.e. 818-555-1212), and there are alpha/numeric pagers
which can receive alpha/numeric messages (e.g., Please call me at
929-555-1212). Additionally, there are voice pagers which receive
voice messages. In addition to receiving messages, pagers are often
configured to transmit messages. An alpha/numeric pager may be
configured to receive alpha/numeric messages from an Internet-based
computer and to transmit to the Internet-based computer originator
alpha/numeric reply messages. Similarly, a voice pager that
receives voice messages from a telephone-based originator can be
configured to transmit a voice message to a voice mail system for
retrieval by the originator via a telephone. In short,
alpha/numeric pagers are configured to transmit alpha/numeric reply
messages and voice pagers are configured to transmit voice reply
messages.
In the field of wireless messaging generally, numeric and
alpha/numeric messaging is, by far, more bandwidth efficient than
voice messaging. Radio spectrum is a dwindling resource and
wireless messaging companies are increasingly sensitive to their
bandwidth efficiencies. Better bandwidth utilization means more
capacity on the system. More capacity equates to more customers.
Hence, the wireless messaging industry has migrated from voice
paging to alpha/numeric paging in order to provide a bandwidth
efficient, robust and high information content messaging service
for their so called "road warrior" customers.
However, to date, there is no simple method for sending a message
containing more than a small amount of information from an
alpha/numeric pager. Generally, alpha/numeric pagers that have the
ability to send messages are configured to transmit small,
pre-programmed ("canned") text messages, such as "I will call you
tonight" or "yes" or "no" or "I will reply later." Other
alpha/numeric pagers have been configured with a miniature, QWERTY
type, text keyboard. The miniature keyboards are difficult to type
on because of their size. This makes input very slow, inaccurate
and very annoying to operate. Additionally, the miniature size of
the keyboard is still too large for a pocket-sized pager.
Audio pagers are generally larger than keyboardless alpha/numeric
pagers, in part because of the large speaker required in order to
reproduce a high quality, audible audio message. An audio pager's
battery life is lower than an alpha/numeric pager due to the amount
of time it takes to receive a message and the amount of power
required to process and play the message.
One solution to the above problem is to route a mobile telephone
originated voice reply message to a computer. However, it's simply
not convenient to send a voice message via a mobile telephone,
configure a computer to receive a voice reply message and then
mentally correlate the sent and received messages together (i.e.
Was the reply "sounds good to me" meant to be an answer to the
message, "I will pay $140,000.00 for your home" or "lets have lunch
tomorrow at the fish place").
A need, therefore, exists to blend audio (e.g., voice) and visual
(e.g., text and/or graphics) messaging in a manner that conserves
valuable bandwidth and simplifies user input of messages in a
mobile communication device. An attempt to that end, is the
so-called "smart phone." Smart Phones are wireless mobile
telephones that have added features, implying that they are smarter
than the average telephone. These features may include a numeric
and alpha/numeric messaging feature, a personal digital assistant
(PDA), computer functions, Internet access, and a miniature
keyboard. Similar to an alpha/numeric pager, many mobile telephones
today are capable of receiving alpha/numeric messages and have the
capability of connecting to the Internet for sending alpha/numeric
reply messages via a miniature keyboard. There is a need to
simplify the input of reply messages into wireless devices for
delivery of the reply messages to the originating device, wherein
both messages may be correlated.
In an alpha/numeric pager messaging environment, text messages are
routinely exchanged between a computer and a text pager (i.e. text
in/text out). In a voice pager messaging environment, voice
messages are routinely exchanged between a telephone configured
voice mail system and a voice pager (i.e. voice in/voice out). In a
mobile telephone messaging environment, as with an alpha/numeric
pager, text messages routinely are exchanged in non real-time (i.e.
text in/text out). However, mobile telephones also have the ability
to make and receive real-time voice calls. More often than not,
when a mobile telephone user receives a text message requiring some
type of response, he or she will simply use the mobile telephone to
place a real-time telephone call to the message originator. In many
cases, the line is busy because the originator is either on the
phone or connected to the Internet. In either case, the mobile
caller is diverted to a voice mail system or answering device and
is instructed to leave a message, which is then retrieved by the
called person at a later time.
Many people prefer to communicate by messaging as opposed to
real-time conversation in order to manage their time. Thus, there
is a need for a device that can not only send non real-time text
messages, but also receive non real-time voice messages (i.e. text
out/voice in). At the wireless side of the messaging loop, there is
a need to send non real-time voice messages from the same mobile
device that receives non real-time text messages (i.e. text
in/voice out).
It is widely accepted in the field of two way paging, that only a
fraction of received messages generate a reply message response. On
the other hand, when text message reception capability is combined
with a mobile telephone, the mobile telephone user will attempt to
reply much more often via a real-time voice call. Mobile telephone
companies call this process "call completion" and it is highly
favored among mobile telephone companies because additional calling
generates more revenue. There is a need to increase reply traffic
in a wireless environment without decreasing the efficiency of text
message delivery to a mobile communication device. There is also a
need to simplify the input of messages in a mobile communication
device, such as a pager or wireless mobile telephone. Finally,
there is a need for a wireless messaging system that provides end
to end audio and visual messaging, wherein only one device is
required at each end of the messaging loop (e.g., computer on the
one end and mobile communication device on the other).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a communication system for
integrating audio and visual messaging. The communication system
includes a communication device for receiving visual messages and
for transmitting voice messages to a recipient, and an integrated
mail gateway for receiving from the communication device a voice
message and addressing information. The integrated mail gateway is
programmed to create an electronic mail (hereinafter "e-mail")
message comprising the voice message. The integrated mail gateway
is also programmed to use the addressing information to address the
e-mail message, and to send the addressed e-mail message to the
recipient.
Preferably, the communication device is a wireless mobile
communication device. However, this is not a requirement. The
present invention is contemplated to be used with wireless as well
as non-wireless communication devices.
In one embodiment, the communication system is used by a user of a
communication device to send a voice message in reply to a received
visual message. For example, consider the situation where a first
person uses a messaging device with Internet e-mail capability to
transmit a visual message to a second person. The communication
system of the present invention enables the second person to easily
transmit a voice reply message to the first user's messaging
device. In one embodiment, the second person uses a communication
device (such as a conventional telephone or mobile telephone having
visual message reception capability) to establish a telephone call
with an integrated mail gateway (IMG) that preferably has access to
the visual message sent to the second person. After the telephone
call is established, the second person uses the communication
device to transmit, or the communication device automatically
transmits, to the IMG addressing information associated with the
visual message received from the first person. For example, a
keypad on the communication device could be used to transmit the
addressing information, or a processor in the communication device
can be programmed to automatically transmit the addressing
information. In one embodiment, after the IMG receives the
addressing information, it prompts the second user to begin
speaking a voice reply message for the first person after hearing a
tone. The IMG records and stores the voice reply message.
Optionally, the IMG will format the voice reply message into a
conventional audio file format. The IMG then creates an e-mail
message and includes the voice reply message in the e-mail.
Optionally, the e-mail message includes at least part of the
received visual message to which the voice message is a reply. The
IMG uses the addressing information provided by the mobile
communication device to address the e-mail message. After the
e-mail message has been addressed, the e-mail message can be sent
to the first user. Upon receiving the e-mail message, the first
user's messaging device can play the voice reply message associated
with the original visual message so that the voice reply message is
heard by the first user.
Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well
as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the
present invention, are described in detail below with reference to
the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form
part of the specification, illustrate various embodiments of the
present invention and, together with the description, further serve
to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a person
skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention. In the
drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally
similar elements. Additionally, the left-most digit(s) of a
reference number identifies the drawing in which the reference
number first appears.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a communication system
according to the present invention.
FIGS. 2A-2D are diagrams of a routing map illustrating a voice
message path from a mobile communication device to a messaging
device.
FIG. 3 illustrates in block form a mobile communication device
according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a process for sending a voice reply
message according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of one embodiment of an
integrated mail gateway and electronic mail gateway.
FIGS. 6A-6C are flow diagrams of a process for receiving voice
messages from a mobile communication device.
FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a visual message received and
displayed by a messaging device.
FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a reply message received and
displayed by a messaging device.
FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary address list message.
FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of adding contact information to a mobile
phone address book.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A first embodiment of the present invention is hereinafter
described, with reference to the diagram of FIG. 1. FIG. 1
illustrates two mobile communication devices, a paging transceiver
140 and mobile telephone 145, for communicating with messaging
devices 105(1), 105(2), and 105(3), collectively referred to as
messaging device 105. More specifically, the paging transceiver 140
and mobile telephone 145 are configured for receiving visual
messages from and transmitting audio messages to the messaging
device 105. Visual messages include such messages as text messages
(i.e. alpha/numeric messages) and graphic messages, which can
include text and graphic images. A messaging device is a device
having the ability to send and receive visual messages. An example
of a messaging device is a personal computer configured with e-mail
software and a connection to the Internet. Messaging devices are
well known to those skilled in the art of computers and
communications.
Preferably, messaging device 105 is directly connected to a data
network 120 (such as the Internet or other like network) or
connected to an internet service provider (ISP) 170(1) or 170(2)
(such as America Online) that has a connection to data network 120.
ISP 170(1) and 170(2) each has a point of presence including data
storage and retrieval equipment for enabling e-mail services and
file transfer as-is well know to those skilled in the art of
internet communications. Messaging device 105(3) is shown
connecting to ISP 170(2) through PSTN 110. Although this is the
most common way today for messaging devices to connect to an ISP,
other connectivity options are available, such as satellite links
and cable modems. Messaging device 105 is enabled for two-way
e-mail and file transfer communications. Data network 120 is a
communications network for transporting data. There are no limits
to the type of data carried by data network 120. For example, the
data can be simple text data or it can be voice or video.
An integrated message gateway (IMG) 150, is connected to a public
switched telephone network (PSTN) 110 for automated storage and
forwarding of audio messages. Operation of the IMG 150 will be
described in detail hereinafter.
A Mobile Switching Office (MSO) 125 (also referred to as a base
station) comprises all of the necessary equipment and software for
enabling communications between mobile telephone 145 and PSTN 110
as well as data network 120. The MSO 125 and mobile telephone 145
are configured for voice communications and visual messaging. Other
than the improvements to be described in detail hereinafter, the
MSO 125 and mobile telephone 145 components are readily available
and are well known to those skilled in the art of mobile telephone
communications. The mobile telephone system described herein may be
configured to operate using various format technologies well known
in the art of mobile telephone systems such as for example, CDMA,
TDMA, GSM, N-AMPS, etc.
A Pager Switching Office (PSO) 130 (also referred to as a base
station), comprises all of the necessary equipment and software for
enabling communications between a paging transceiver 140 and the
PSTN 110 or the data network 120. The PSO 130 and paging
transceiver 140 are configured for voice messaging from the paging
transceiver 140 to the PSO 130 and for visual messaging from the
PSO 130 to the paging transceiver 140. Visual messaging is well
known to those skilled in the art of paging systems. Paging systems
capable of transmitting visual messages may be purchased from
Motorola, a U.S. manufacturer of paging equipment. Voice paging
systems are also well known to those skilled in the art of paging
systems. Motorola manufacturers paging systems for transmitting
voice messages to voice pagers. Readycom of Chapel Hill, N.C.
produces a system for transmitting voice messages to cellular voice
pagers and for transmitting voice messages from cellular voice
pagers.
Other than the improvements to be described in detail hereinafter,
the PSO 130 and paging transceiver 140 components are readily
available and are well known to those skilled in the art of paging
communications. The paging system described herein may be
configured to operate using various format technologies well known
to those skilled in the art of mobile telephone systems and paging
systems, such as for example Inflection, pACT, TDMA, etc.
In operation, a user (not shown) enters an e-mail message via a
keyboard (not shown) attached to messaging device 105. The e-mail
message is addressed to one or more communication devices, such as
paging transceiver 140 and/or a mobile telephone 145. The e-mail
message is routed through the data network 120 to MSO 125 or PSO
130 for transmission to the designated communication device(s).
The mobile communication device receives/retrieves and stores the
e-mail message and, optionally, alerts the user that a message has
been received. The user may view the message from a display screen
on the communication device. In order to reply to the e-mail
message, the user simply activates a reply command (e.g., the user
can press a "reply" button or select a "reply" menu option) and
then speaks a voice message into the mobile communication device
microphone (not shown). The voice message and addressing data are
transmitted to the wireless system operator (i.e., MSO 125 or PSO
130 and forwarded to the IMG 150. The IMG 150 formats the voice
message into an acceptable messaging file format. It then creates
an e-mail message with the formatted voice message attached
thereto. Optionally, part or all of the received visual message is
included in the e-mail message, thus providing the e-mail
originator with a means to easily identify the message to which the
voice message is a reply. The e-mail message is then sent to the
ISP 170(1) for retrieval by messaging device 105(2) or is sent
directly to messaging device 105(1). The user of messaging device
105 then listens to the formatted voice message using an audio
system.
The process of sending an e-mail message from a messaging device
105 to a mobile communication device is well known to those skilled
in the art of wireless visual messaging systems. However, the
integration of audio and visual messaging presents novel features
never before available to a wireless service company or end user.
With the present invention, a cellular telephone company may now
offer integrated (i.e., audio/visual) messaging services which are
transported over the Internet, thereby achieving a substantial
reduction in cost. Cellular telephone companies are offering e-mail
type text messaging to mobile telephone subscribers today (through
the Internet). In short, the cellular telephone company is already
connected to the Internet. The present invention provides new
opportunities for transporting non real-time voice messages over a
network connection that would not be possible in real-time.
Referring to FIG. 2A, there is shown a routing map illustrating a
voice message path from a mobile telephone 145 to messaging device
105(2), wherein a remote IMG 150 is configured for dial up service
and located between the data network 120 and the PSTN 110. A mobile
user 202 speaks a voice message into the mobile telephone 145. The
voice message is transmitted to the MSO 125 and routed through the
PSTN 110 to the IMG 150. The IMG 150 stores and formats the voice
message and sends it as an e-mail through the data network 120 to
ISP 170(1). Messaging device 105(2) retrieves the voice message
from service provider 170(1), and the voice message is played back
on the messaging device 105(2) to a user 204.
Referring to FIG. 2B, there is shown a routing map illustrating a
voice message path from a mobile telephone 145 to messaging device
105(2) wherein IMG 150 is privately connected to the MSO 125. The
mobile user 202 speaks a voice message into the mobile telephone
145. The voice message is transmitted to the MSO 125 and routed to
the IMG 150. The IMG 150 stores and formats the voice message and
sends it as an e-mail through the data network 120 to ISP 170(1).
Preferably, IMG 150 uses data network 120 to send the voice message
to service provider 170(1). However, one skilled in the art will
appreciate that IMG 150 can have a direct connection to service
provider 170(1), thereby bypassing data network 120. Messaging
device 105(2) retrieves the voice message from service provider
170(1), and the voice message is played back on the messaging
device 105(2) to the user 204.
Referring now to FIG. 2C, there is shown a routing map illustrating
a voice message path from paging transceiver 140 to messaging
device 105(2), wherein an IMG 150(2) is directly coupled with the
PSO 130 and interfaced to the PSO 130 e-mail network system. A
pager user 206 speaks a voice message into the paging transceiver
140. The voice message is then stored in the paging transceiver.
The stored voice message is transmitted to the PSO 130 using a
paging protocol and routed to the IMG 150(2). The IMG 150(2) stores
and formats the voice message and sends it as an e-mail through the
data network 120 to ISP 170(1). The message is then retrieved and
played by the messaging device 105(2).
Referring to FIG. 2D, there is shown a routing map illustrating a
voice message path from paging transceiver 140 to messaging device
105(2), wherein an IMG 150 is privately networked to ISP 170(1). A
pager user 206 speaks a voice message into the paging transceiver
140. The voice message is transmitted to the PSO 130 and routed to
a IMG 150 where the voice message is formatted and sent via the ISP
170(1) and continues as previously described.
As illustrated above, a voice message may be routed from a mobile
communication device 140, 145 to a messaging device 105 utilizing a
variety of message routing designs. It is important to note that
the voice message may be routed through one particular path while a
visual message may be routed through a different path. For example,
a text e-mail message may be routed from the messaging device
105(1) through the data network 120 to an e-mail server and short
messaging service at the MSO 125. From the MSO 125, the visual
e-mail text message is transmitted to the mobile telephone 145. The
e-mail message is viewed by the user and the user speaks a voice
reply message to be delivered back to the message originator at the
messaging device 105(1). The voice message is then routed to the
messaging device 105(1) through one of, or a variation of, the
routes previously described. The system operator is given the
option to choose a two-way messaging system for voice and visual
messaging that utilizes the most efficient delivery path for
routing messages depending on the type of message to be delivered
or received (i.e. audio or visual). An MSO 125 or PSO 130 may now
utilize the data network 120 for transporting voice messages.
Prior art systems currently exist for sending e-mail text messages
from a computer over the Internet to a mobile communication device.
The present invention enables a mobile communication device to send
a voice reply message over the Internet (or other data network) to
the user that originated the e-mail text message. This is a highly
desirable feature. For example, consider a mobile device user who
is driving a car and receives an e-mail message to which a reply is
urgently required. Such a user is unable to safely use a keyboard
to enter a text reply message, but can easily create a voice reply
message while keeping his or her hands on the wheel.
Referring to FIG. 3, a mobile communication device, such as a
mobile telephone 145 or a paging transceiver 140, according to one
embodiment is shown in block form. An antenna 351 connects to an
antenna interface 352. The antenna interface 352 may be a duplexer
or equivalent device depending on the type of mobile communication
device desired. An antenna switch, for example, may be utilized for
configuration as a paging transceiver 140 or two antennas might be
used, thereby eliminating the requirement for a duplexer. A
receiver 353 and a transmitter 354 are connected to the antenna
interface 352 and processing module 355. The processing module 355
includes a microprocessor, RAM and ROM memory, switching, and I/O
ports.
The necessary software instructions and operating system for
enabling mobile telephone 145 or paging transceiver 140 to receive
visual messages are included and well known to those skilled in the
art of mobile telephone and paging systems. Mobile telephones for
two-way voice communications are commonly available today. Many of
these mobile telephones receive and display visual messages such as
text messages. Generally, this service is called Short Messaging
Service or SMS.
One format for receiving SMS is known as Cellular Digital Packet
Data or CDPD. There are many variations for text messaging in
mobile telephones and there are many formats in which the text
messages may be transmitted. A few mobile telephone types that
receive text messaging are CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access),
TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), and GSM (Global System for
Mobile Communications). There are also a plurality of languages and
protocols for enabling a wireless mobile telephone to communicate
over the Internet. A few of them are HDML (Handheld Device Mark up
Language), HDTP (Handheld Device Transport Protocol), TTML (Tagged
Text Mark up Language) and WAP (Wireless Application Protocol).
There are many prior art configurations for receiving visual
messages by mobile telephone 145 or paging transceiver 140, and all
such configurations are herein contemplated for use in combination
with the novel features of the present invention. In short, it is
widely known in the art of wireless paging systems and mobile
telephone systems that paging transceivers and mobile telephones
receive visual messages.
The process by which a visual message, such as text, is received is
not critical. However, the novel system and method for processing
the received message information in connection with transmitting a
voice reply message will be described in detail hereinafter.
Referring again to FIG. 3, a user interface 356 connects to the
processing module 355. The user interface 356 comprises all of the
input and output devices for interaction with the mobile
communication device such as speaker, alerting transducer,
microphone, liquid crystal display (LCD) or light emitting diode
(LED) display, switches, etc. These devices are normally included
with a conventional mobile telephone having short messaging service
features. In the case of the paging transceiver 140, a microphone
is included in the user interface 356 for enabling speech input
because a conventional paging transceiver for visual messaging does
not have a microphone.
The antenna 351, antenna interface 352, receiver 353, transmitter
354, processing module 355 and user interface 356 are connected in
a typical mobile telephone or paging transceiver configuration. A
controller 357 and memory 358 have been included for processing of
received visual messages, storage of visual messages, and
processing of transmitted voice messages. The controller 357
comprises a conventional microprocessor of the type commonly used
in mobile telephones and paging transceivers. The controller 357
also includes a memory manager, I/O ports, RAM and ROM memory and
all necessary software instructions required to communicate with
the processing module 355, user interface 356, and memory 358. The
controller 357 connects to the processing module 355 for receiving
and sending data, messages, and commands. The controller 357 is
connected to memory 358 for storage and retrieval of messages and
message data and to the user interface 356 for input and output
interfacing with a user.
Continuing with FIG. 3, when a visual message is received by
receiver 353, it is stored for reproduction by the processing
module 355 in a conventional manner. The visual message may contain
addressing data, identification data or other data corresponding to
the visual message which is also stored. After the visual message
is received, an alert may be generated for notifying a user that a
message has been received. The user may then select a display
message option provided by the user interface 356 to cause the
stored visual message to be displayed on the user interface 356 LCD
or LED display.
When a user wishes to send a voice message in reply to a received
visual message, the user enables a voice reply mode via user
interface 356. This causes the controller 357 to read the necessary
addressing information from the processing module 355 and memory
358 for addressing and sending the voice reply message to the
originator of the received message. Optionally, the user may enter
addressing information associated with the received visual message
manually using a keypad, as previously described. After enabling
the voice reply mode, the user speaks into the microphone of the
user interface 356, and a real-time voice message is transmitted to
the IMG 150 for forwarding, in non real-time, to the visual message
originator (e.g., messaging device 105). In an alternative
embodiment of the present invention, a pre-recorded voice message
is transmitted to the IMG 150 as will be described in detail
hereinafter.
When a mobile communication device receives a visual message, the
mobile communication device also receives and stores messaging data
associated with the visual message. This messaging data may
include, but is not limited to: a reply name, a reply address, a
reply code, a reply type code, and reply subject matter.
The reply name is generally the name of the person who sent the
visual message. The reply address may be an e-mail address such as
"jsmith@hotmail.com" or an abbreviated address such as a sequence
of letters and/or numbers that is associated with an e-mail address
stored at the IMG 150. The reply address may also include an IMG
150 system identifier or e-mail system identifier or a telephone
number to a particular IMG 150. The reply code is a code that
corresponds to the original visual message stored at the MSO's 125
or PSO's 130 e-mail system or at IMG 150. The reply type code
indicates the type of voice message that is allowable by the system
(i.e. pre-recorded, real-time, analog, digital, format, etc.). The
type code may also indicate the allowable length or size of a voice
message. The reply subject matter may contain the original text
subject matter of the received visual message.
A complete system according to the preferred embodiment of the
present invention will now be described in connection with the
mobile telephone 145 and the MSO 125 system of FIG. 2B. The mobile
telephone 145 is enabled to receive visual messages from the MSO
125 using any number of methods previously described. The system
may operate in any number of formats including CDMA, TDMA, GSM,
etc. Short messaging service (SMS) for sending text messages to a
mobile telephone is well known to those skilled in the art of
mobile telephone systems. Other methods for delivering visual
messages are also very common. For example, a modem could be added
to an analog mobile telephone or tone signaling could be used for
transmitting text from the MSO 125 to the mobile telephone 145. The
use of CDPD is also quite common in the art of mobile telephone
systems.
In order to send a visual message from the messaging device 105 to
the mobile telephone 145, a user of messaging device 105 creates an
e-mail message using an e-mail program, such as one provided from
AOL, Lotus, Netscape or Microsoft. The e-mail message is sent from
the messaging device 105 to the MSO 125 via data network 120. An
e-mail gateway (EMG) 115 is configured at the MSO 125 for receiving
the e-mail message for delivery to the mobile telephone 145. Such a
configuration is well known to those skilled in the art of mobile
telephone systems.
After the e-mail message is received by the EMG 115, the MSO 125
transmits a signal to the mobile telephone 145. The signal includes
the e-mail message and messaging data associated with the e-mail
message. For this example, the signal consists of a reply name of
"John Doe," a reply code, and the e-mail message, as shown
below:
From: John Doe
To: Mary Jane
Subject: Airport Delay
Reply code: 12
Mary,
My Flight is Delayed. I now arrive at 10:00 p.m., Flt. 2216.
The reply code is a code that is associated with the e-mail message
stored in EMG 115. The reply code may be any sequence of numbers or
characters, such as: 12 or 123ABC. Each message stored in the EMG
115 has a unique reply code associated with it.
The antenna 351 of mobile telephone 145 receives the signal sent
from the MSO 125. The receiver 353 demodulates the signal to
recover the e-mail message and message data contained in the
signal. The processing module 355 stores the e-mail message and
message data in memory and causes the user interface 356 to alert
the user that a message has arrived.
Upon being alerted, the user may activate the user interface 356 to
cause the processor 355 to read the stored visual message and
associated messaging data from the memory and display it on a
display screen for viewing by the user. The time at which the
message was sent or delivered may also be displayed on the display
screen. Additionally, a reply indicator, which is triggered by the
reply code and gives an indication to the user that the visual
message selected is one in which a voice reply may be sent, is
displayed. After viewing the displayed information, the user makes
a decision to send a voice reply message to the originator by
selecting a reply option provided by the user interface.
Referring now to FIG. 4, there is illustrated a process performed
by the controller 357 for sending a voice reply message. The
process begins with step 402, where the controller 357 receives an
indication that the user has selected a reply option from the user
interface 356 and, thus, enters a reply mode. Flow proceeds to step
404, where the controller 357 reads the memory from processing
module 355 for messaging data corresponding to the visual message
to which the user desires to reply. A pre-programmed telephone
number to the MSO 125 for connection to the IMG 150 is also read
from memory 358 or obtained from the messaging data. The messaging
data may or may not include a reply code. If the messaging data
does not include a reply code, the process proceeds to step 406,
otherwise the process proceeds to step 412.
In step 406, the controller 357 searches an electronic address book
(hereafter "address book") stored in memory 358 for an address
associated with the reply name that was included in the messaging
data. If the controller 357 does not find such an address, then
flow proceeds to step 410, otherwise flow proceeds to step 412. In
step 410, the user is informed via a visual or audible indicator
that there is no return address and the process ends.
It should be noted that the reply code search at step 404 was for a
code that corresponds to the visual message stored at the MSO 125.
If the reply code does not exist, the reply name included in the
messaging data is used to search for a corresponding address. As
previously described, the reply code might simply be the sequence
"12". Reply codes reduce air time because all of the necessary
addressing information is stored at the MSO 125 and the reply code
points to that data.
In step 412, the controller 357 of mobile telephone 145 attempts to
establish communications with the IMG 150 at the MSO 125 by sending
the pre-programmed telephone number read from the memory 358 or
obtained from the messaging data. This attempt is automatically
accomplished by the controller 357. After step 412, flow proceeds
to step 414, where a determination is made to see if communication
is established. If communication is not established, flow proceeds
to step 416, otherwise flow proceeds to step 418.
In step 416, the user is informed that a connection could not be
established and the process ends. If this occurs, the user can
simply attempt to send the reply message at a later time. In step
418, the mobile telephone transmits addressing data to the IMG 150,
and the IMG 150 transmits acceptance or error codes back to the
mobile telephone 145. The addressing data either includes the reply
code or the address determined in step 406.
After step 418, flow proceeds to step 420, where the controller 357
checks for "invalid data" error messages sent from the IMG 150. If
an invalid data error is detected, the controller 357 tags the
invalid addressing data stored in the memory 358 as invalid and
reads the memory 358 for valid messaging data in order to correct
the problem. For example, if the mobile telephone 145 sends a reply
code associated with a message that is no longer available to the
MG 150, the IMG 150 will send an error code to the mobile telephone
145 indicating that the message can not be replied to using the
current reply code.
When the controller receives this error code it reads the memory
358, to see if there is a name and address for the recipient stored
in memory 358 (step 422). If yes, at step 428, flow proceeds to
step 418 and the process continues. If the controller 357 does not
find valid addressing data, flow proceeds to step 430 where the
user is informed of the problem via an indicator and the process
ends.
If at step 420 it is determined that the addressing data is valid,
flow proceeds to the message record process at step 424. At step
424, the mobile telephone 145 user is informed by the IMG 150 to
begin speaking a message at the tone for the designated recipient.
The mobile telephone user may also be informed via an LCD or any
other means of indication to the user to begin speaking. The user
may also be informed as to how much time the user may speak a voice
message. For example, "begin speaking a 30 second message for Mary
Jane at the tone." However, a preferred embodiment provides for a
more efficient means for notifying a user of the amount of
available record time. As previously discussed, a reply type code
can be included in the messaging data transmitted with the visual
message. The reply type code can include a length code indicating
the amount of time allowable for a reply message. This feature can
be very useful for a mobile telephone 145 user, in that the user is
informed at the time the visual message is viewed, of the amount of
time given to reply. This advanced notice gives the user time to
compose a reply message in advance as opposed to finding out two
seconds before recording starts.
At step 424, the voice message is recorded by the IMG 150 in a
manner consistent with conventional voice mail systems well known
to those skilled in the art of voice mail systems. For example, the
user may be given the option to review the message, delete the
message, re-record the message, etc. When the user is finished
recording, flow proceeds to step 426, where the IMG 150 notifies
the mobile telephone 145 user that the voice message has been
accepted and or sent and the process ends.
As illustrated by the above process, a voice message may be sent as
a reply message to a visual message. A number of schemes may be
used to send the voice reply message to a messaging device 105 so
that the messaging device 105 user knows that the voice message is
a voice reply to a particular visual message. In one scheme, the
mobile telephone 145 simply transmits a reply code to the IMG 150.
The reply code corresponds to a particular visual message available
to the IMG 150. For example, the visual message could be stored
within the IMG 150, MSO 125 or EMG 115. When the IMG 150 formats
the voice reply message, the IMG 150 can include in the reply
message the particular visual message associated with the reply
code.
In another scheme, if the visual message is not available to the
IMG 150, the mobile telephone 145 searches its memory 358 for a
name or address. If found, the name or address, together with the
received visual message or part of the received visual message, is
transmitted along with the voice message to the IMG 150, which will
then create an e-mail message containing the voice message and the
received visual message or part thereof. The name or address sent
to the IMG 150 is used by the IMG 150 to address the e-mail
message.
In short, if the visual message is available to the IMG 150, and
the messaging data transmitted to the mobile telephone 145 includes
a reply code, then there is no need for the mobile telephone 145 to
transmit to the IMG 150 anything other than the voice message and
the reply code, thereby saving valuable bandwidth.
Voice messages that are not reply messages may also be initiated by
the mobile telephone 145. The mobile telephone user may simply
select a pre-stored name or address from a name and address book
(also referred to as, "send message list") stored in memory 358.
When the name appears on the display screen, the user simply uses
the user interface to select a send message function and the
process starts at step 412, FIG. 4. The stored name or address is
utilized for addressing the voice message and the process proceeds
as previously described.
Voice messages transmitted from the mobile telephone 145 may be
analog or digital. If analog transmission is utilized, the IMG 150
converts the analog voice message to digital data representative of
the voice message for storage and transmission to the messaging
device 105. If the voice message is in digital format, the digital
data representative of the voice message may be stored directly by
the IMG 150.
Additionally, a voice message may be pre-recorded and stored in
memory 358 for transmission to the IMG 150. In such a
configuration, a digital signal processor and associated analog to
digital converter may also be configured with the controller 357 in
a conventional manner for recording voice messages and storing the
voice messages as data in memory 358. If the stored voice message
is to be transmitted in analog format, then a digital to analog
converter may also be utilized for converting the voice message
data stored in memory 358 back to analog. For a pre-recorded voice
message configuration, step 424 of FIG. 4 would be changed to:
Recall the stored message from memory and transmit with associated
addressing data. Optionally, the stored voice message my be
compressed by conventional compression algorithms prior to being
transmitted.
In connection with the paging transceiver 140, it should be noted
that a telephone call is not normally initiated between a paging
transceiver and the pager switching office (PSO) 300. In the case
of paging transceiver 140 sending voice messages to the PSO 130, a
pre-recorded voice message, as opposed to a real-time voice
message, may be sent as previously described. However, at step 412,
a telephone connection is not established. Step 412 would be
changed to: Page PSO 130 utilizing a conventional voice paging
protocol such as Inflection, pACT, etc. Step 414 would be changed
to: Did the PSO 130 respond to the selective call (i.e. page and
handshake). Finally, step 424 would be changed to: Transmit the
pre-recorded voice message using a paging protocol. Optionally,
prior to transmission, the pre-recorded voice message can be
compressed using conventional compression algorithms to decrease
air time.
Referring now to FIG. 5, one embodiment of the IMG 150 and EMG 115
are shown. The IMG 150 comprises a voice mail system (VMS) 510
networked to a voice mail gateway (VMG) 520. The IMG 150 may also
include a mail server 530(1). The EMG 115 includes a short
messaging service (SMS) 532 and an e-mail conversion system (ECS)
531. The EMG 115 may also include a mail server 530(2). Optionally,
the EMG 115 and IMG 150 can share the same mail server 530.
The mail server 530(2) is coupled to data network 120 and receives
visual messages sent from messaging device 105. The ECS 531
retrieves visual messages from the mail server 530 and reformats
the messages for wireless transmission. The ECS 531 sends the
reformatted messages to the SMS 532 where it is queued and sent to
the MSO 125 for transmission to a targeted mobile telephone 145.
There are many formats and systems available for delivering e-mail
messages to the MSO 125 or PSO 130 for transmission to a mobile
telephone 145 or paging transceiver 140, respectively. These
systems are well known to those skilled in the art of wireless
messaging. Other than the improvement described hereinafter, these
systems are readily available.
The VMS 510 is connected to the MSO 125 so that voice messages sent
from mobile telephone 145 can be received and stored by the VMS
510. The VMS can be directly connected to the MSO 125 (as shown in
FIG. 2B) or the VMS 510 can be connected to the MSO 125 through the
PSTN 110.
The VMS 510 is an enhanced voice mail system. Voice mail systems
are readily available from manufacturers such as Centigram
Communications Corporation in San Jose, Calif., Nortel Networks in
Santa Clara, Calif. and AVT in Kirkland, Wash., to name a few. The
VMG 520 is an enhanced voice mail gateway. Voice mail gateway
systems are also readily available from the above manufacturers.
Voice mail systems and voice mail gateways are generally software
driven and adaptable to various messaging environments. These
systems are easily networked for communication between different
manufacturer's platforms. Additionally, these systems have evolved
to the point that many have the capability of sharing messages and
data between platforms. One such system manufacturer is Data
Connection Limited in Enfield, England. Data Connection Limited
manufactures voice mail systems, voice mail gateways and networking
systems which will communicate utilizing a protocol called "Voice
Profile for Internet Mail" (VPIM). The VPIM protocol is a common
messaging language for the transport of voice messages between
platforms. VPIM additionally allows for the sending of voice
messages from a computer or voice mail system to a voice mail
system or computer via the Internet. Other than the improvements
described hereinafter, voice mail systems, voice mail gateways,
voice mail networks, mail servers, e-mail gateways, short messaging
service systems, MSO systems, protocols for transmitting voice
messages over the Internet and protocols for transmitting e-mail
messages to a wireless transceiver are well known to those skilled
in the art of these systems and are readily available.
FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate a process for receiving voice messages from
a mobile telephone 145 or paging transceiver 140 performed by the
IMG 150. Referring to FIG. 6A, the process begins in step 600,
where the IMG 150 is placed in call stand-by mode where it awaits a
call. When a call is received from a mobile telephone 145, the VMS
510 receives from the MSO 125 subscriber identification data
corresponding to the mobile telephone 145 which placed the call
(step 602). The subscriber identification data may include the
phone number or identification of the mobile telephone 145. The
name of the subscriber and the subscriber's messaging address, such
as an e-mail address, etc., can be found by the MSO 125 by cross
indexing the subscriber identification data.
After step 602, flow proceeds to step 604, where the VMS 510
accepts or rejects the call based on the subscriber identification
data. If the call is rejected, flow proceeds to step 606, otherwise
flow proceeds to step 608. In step 606 the call is terminated, an
error message is transmitted to the mobile telephone 145, and flow
returns to step 600.
In step 608, the VMS 510 receives data from the mobile telephone
145. The data may include a request code. The request code
indicates the type of action requested. For example, a request code
of "01" indicates that the current request is for sending a general
message, and a request code "02" indicates that the current request
is for sending a reply message. Request codes may also be used for
forwarding, cc, bcc, etc. The data may also include addressing
information such as an e-mail address, an abbreviated e-mail
address, a name, subject matter, type, a reply code, a coded
address, etc.
In a preferred embodiment, the present invention utilizes messaging
data codes whenever possible in order to conserve transmission
time. When a mobile telephone 145 user wishes to originate a
message (as opposed to reply to a message), the user selects the
name of the person to whom the message is to be sent from an
address book stored in the telephone 145. When the user activates
the send message command after selecting a recipient, only the
message to be forwarded to the recipient, a request code, and a
coded address normally needs to be transmitted to the IMG 150.
The request code directs the VMS 510 to perform an action, in this
case, the example is to send a message. The coded address
corresponds to all other information required to send the message
to the recipient, such as the intended recipient's name, e-mail
address, message type code, etc. To send a reply message, only the
request code and a reply code need be sent together with the reply
message.
It should be noted that there are many methods contemplated that
may be used for finding information stored at the MSO 125 or IMG
150. A mobile telephone 145 may, for example, transmit the name of
the message recipient. The VMS 510, may utilize the received name
for looking up the associated address stored in a database
associated with the IMG 150 in order to reduce the amount of
transmission time required by the mobile telephone 145. The mobile
telephone 145 according to the preferred embodiment of the present
invention does not transmit the actual addressing information if
that information is otherwise available to the IMG 150 or
associated interconnected systems via a coded address or the
like.
Referring back to FIG. 6A, after step 608, flow proceeds to step
610, where the VMS 510 determines the request based on the received
request code. The request may be to forward a message, reply to a
message, send a general message, send a cc, send a bcc, etc. For
the purpose of illustration, the decision step at step 610 has been
limited to send a general message or send a reply message. The
process of sending a copy or forwarding a message, etc. may be
readily implemented in a manner consistent with the process
described in detail hereinafter. If at step 610, it is determined
that the request is for sending a general voice message, flow
proceeds to step 616, otherwise a reply message is assumed and flow
proceeds to step 640.
Referring to FIG. 6B, at step 616, the VMS 510 determines if the
message to be sent is completely addressed or if the VMS 510
received a coded address, which needs to be decoded or cross
referenced. If the message to be sent is completely addressed, flow
proceeds to the record voice message process, step 626. A
completely addressed message would include information pertaining
to whom the message is from. This information was acquired at step
602 from the MSO 125, as previously described. A completely
addressed message also includes the name and e-mail address of the
recipient such, as: Bill Jones, "Bjones@hotmail.com".
It is beneficial for the mobile telephone to transmit a complete
recipient name and address when the mobile telephone 145 may be
roaming in another system area where the IMG 150 does not have a
corresponding address book. If at step 616 the VMS 510 determines
that coded data representing a recipient was received (i.e. coded
address), flow proceeds to step 618. At step 618, the VMS 510
searches an address book stored in its database for a corresponding
match. The VMS 510 may alternatively utilize an algorithm for
converting the code to an address or name.
After step 618, flow proceeds to step 620, where the VMS 510
determines if the recipient address can be produced from the coded
information or found in the VMS 510 address book. If at step 620 an
address cannot be obtained, flow proceeds to step 622, where an
error is transmitted to the mobile telephone 145, the connection is
terminated and the process is returned. If an address is obtained
at step 620 flow proceeds to step 626.
Step 626 is a voice recording process performed by the VMS 510. If
a real-time voice message is to be received by the VMS 510, then
voice prompts are returned to the mobile telephone 145 (e.g.,
"start recording at the tone"). The VMS 510 allows a caller to
review, re-record, append, erase, etc., messages in a manner
consistent with typical voice mail systems. If, on the other hand,
a non-real-time message is to be received, then voice prompts are
not returned. A record type indicator is transmitted from the
mobile telephone 145 at the beginning of step 626 indicating the
desired recording format (i.e., real-time vs. pre-recorded). A
paging transceiver 140 may, for example, utilize the pre-recorded
format while a mobile telephone 145 may utilize a real-time
recording format.
At step 626, the voice message is received from the mobile
telephone 145 and recorded by the VMS 510. Recording stops after an
assigned amount of time or after the VMS 510 receives a stop record
command from the mobile telephone 145. Recording may also be
terminated by the VMS 510 responsive to a noisy communications
connection. When the recording is complete, the VMS 510 sends an
acknowledgment to the mobile telephone 145 and the communication is
terminated (step 628). Flow then proceeds to step 630, where the
VMS 510 transfers the voice message and the necessary addressing
information to the VMG 520.
The VMG 520 converts the voice message to a conventional audio file
format suitable for transmission over the Internet 120 and
reproduction by the destination messaging device 105. An example of
a conventional audio file format is the ".wav" format developed by
Microsoft. The VMG 520 also creates an e-mail message comprising
the converted voice message and uses the addressing information to
address the e-mail. The converted voice message can be stored in a
file and attached to the e-mail message.
The addressed e-mail message is then forwarded to a mail server
such as the mail server 530 (step 632). The VMG 520 preferably
inserts the words "voice message" in the subject line of the e-mail
and inserts instructions for playing the message in the body of the
e-mail. It is preferable that the e-mail message be given a
priority level equal to primary mail so that it will not be
inadvertently filtered by a recipient's e-mail system that limits
attachments or treats attachments as secondary mail. After the
addressed e-mail message is delivered to the mail server 530, the
process returns to step 600. The mail server 530 is responsible for
sending the addressed e-mail message to the intended recipient.
Referring back to FIG. 6A, at step 610, if the request is for a
reply, flow proceeds to step 640. Referring you to FIG. 6C, at step
640, the VMS 510 searches for the original message and addressing
information files for sending a reply message. This information is
located by correlating a received reply code with an archived
original message file. The original visual message data may be
archived on the mail server 530, the VMG 520, the VMS 510 or any
other associated device. For this description, the archived e-mail
visual message file is stored in an archive file on the mail server
530 for a 5 day period.
After step 640, flow proceeds to step 642, where the VMS 510
determines if the reply information corresponding to the received
reply code is present in an archive file. If the reply information
is not present, then flow proceeds to step 644, otherwise flow
proceeds to step 658.
In step 644, the VMS 510 requests reply addressing information from
the mobile telephone 145. Flow then proceeds to step 646, where the
VMS 510 analyzes the information received from the mobile telephone
145. If the reply addressing information is complete, flow proceeds
to the record process (step 658). If the reply information is
coded, flow proceeds to step 648 where the address and or name is
calculated or found, as previously described. Flow then proceeds to
step 650 where the VMS 510 makes a determination as to the validity
of received data. If no addressing data was received or if the data
received was not valid, flow proceeds to step 652, where an error
code is returned to the mobile telephone 145, communication is
terminated, and the process returns to step 600. If at step 650 it
is determined that the data is valid, flow proceeds to step
658.
At step 658, if the process flow is from step 642, the "reply to"
name, address, subject matter and text are obtained from the e-mail
archive at the mail server 530 via the VMG 520 and appended to the
voice message by the VMS 510. The "mailed from" information, as
previously described, is obtained by the VMS 510 when communication
is established by cross indexing the subscriber identification data
with the subscriber data base associated with the VMS 510. At step
658, if the process flow is from step 650 or step 646, a "reply to"
name, address and subject matter including "mail from" information
is appended or attached to the voice message by the
It should be noted that the preferred method for receiving reply
information from a mobile telephone 145 is to receive a reply code
in order to conserve transmission time. The original message file
stored in the archive at the mail server 530 provides all of the
necessary information required to send a reply. The next preferred
method for receiving reply information from the mobile telephone
145 is to send a coded address and subject matter. The coded
address may then be correlated with the subscribers mailing list
stored at the VMS 510 in order to produce the name and/or address.
The least favorable method is to receive from the mobile telephone
145 the complete name, complete address and subject matter.
During step 658, the voice message is recorded by the VMS 510 in
the same manner as described with reference to step 626. After step
658, flow proceeds to step 660 where the call is terminated. The
VMS 510 then sends to the VMG 520 the recorded voice message,
addressing data, and a pointer to or the actual visual message to
which the voice message is a reply (step 662). The VMG 520 converts
the recorded voice message to an acceptable Internet and messaging
device 105 format and packages the reply voice message with the
original visual message for transmission. Flow proceeds to step
664, where the VMG 520 forwards the packaged addressed message
(i.e. audio and visual) to the mail server 530 for transmission to
the messaging device 105, as previously described, and the process
returns to step 600.
FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a visual message 700 received and
displayed by a messaging device 105. The visual message 700
includes a voice message in the ".wav" format attached thereto.
Because the visual message 700 includes a voice message as an
attachment the visual message 700 is referred to as an audio/visual
message. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a reply audio/visual
message 800 received and displayed by a messaging device 105
including the original visual message sent to the mobile telephone
145. If the original message is no longer archived (as previously
described) or available to the IMG 150, the original message would
not be included. However, the subject: Re: Airport Delay, would
still be included.
Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 10, the mobile telephone 145 or paging
transceiver 140 can store names and addresses or abbreviated
addresses and coded addresses in an address book stored in memory
358. When the mobile telephone 145 receives a visual message at
1000, the user may select an "add to list" feature at 1030 from the
user interface 356, causing the controller 357 to add to the
address book the name and actual address of the individual who sent
the message, along with an abbreviated or coded address
corresponding to the actual address at 1040.
As previously described, it is preferable that the mobile telephone
145 transmit coded address information representative of an actual
address stored in the IMG 150. However, there may be times, such as
when the mobile telephone is roaming in another IMG 150 system
area, when it is necessary to transmit an un-coded name and
address. In order to solve this problem, the mobile telephone 145,
according to one embodiment, may store both the complete name and
address and a coded address which corresponds to the complete
address information stored at the IMG 150.
When the IMG 150 sends a visual message to the mobile telephone
145, complete addressing information is also sent if the coded
address is not already stored in memory 358 of the mobile telephone
145. In other words, the IMG 150 need not transmit information to
the mobile telephone 145, if the information is already stored
there. When a visual message is transmitted to the mobile telephone
145, the IMG 150 first sends a coded address to the mobile
telephone 145. The controller 357 then searches for corresponding
complete addressing information stored in memory 358. If a match is
found, the mobile telephone 145 indicates to the IMG 150 that a
match was found. The IMG 150 then does not need to transmit the
actual data. It is a simple matter for the controller 357 to insert
the corresponding name and address in the proper place within the
message indicating from whom the message was sent. If the complete
address information including the name is not stored in the memory
358, the mobile telephone 145 indicates to the IMG 150 that a match
was not found. The IMG 150 then transmits the complete information
to the mobile telephone 145 for storage.
Referring to FIG. 10, when the mobile telephone 145 receives a
visual message at 1000 from the IMG 150, the message is stored as
previously described for viewing on an LCD type display at 1010.
When a mobile telephone 145 user views the message, the user may
elect to save the name and address. The name and address may be
saved in memory 358 by selecting the "add to list" option on the
user interface at 1030 which causes the controller 357 to store the
address information in the address book in memory 358 for
addressing out-going voice messages at 1040.
The first time that the mobile telephone 145 transmits the saved
address information to the IMG 150 (i.e. when sending a message),
the IMG 150 will issue an associated coded address to the mobile
telephone 145 for storage in memory 358. The mobile telephone 145
then adds the coded address to the entry in its address book
associated with the stored address. The IMG 150 adds the address
information and coded address to its address book. In this manner,
the mobile telephone 145 need only transmit the complete address
information one time. Thereafter, only the coded address need be
transmitted.
A mobile telephone subscriber may also add an address to the mobile
telephone 145 address book using a messaging device 105. The
subscriber may simply send an "address list message" to their own
mobile telephone 145. An "address list message" is a visual message
having a predetermined format and including a list of names and
corresponding addresses. One example of an address list message is
an e-mail message wherein the body of the e-mail includes a list of
address book entries, wherein each entry includes a name and at
least one corresponding address. FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment
of an address list message. When an address list message is
received by the IMG 150, the IMG 150 detects that the message is an
address list message based on its format and reads the names and
address, and transmits the names, addresses and corresponding coded
address information to the mobile telephone 145 for addition to the
mobile telephone 145 address book. The IMG 150 also adds the same
names, addresses and corresponding coded addresses to its address
book. In an alternative embodiment seen in FIG. 10, the address
list message is sent to the mobile telephone 145. Upon the address
list message being received at 1000, the controller 357 parses the
message to obtain the names and corresponding addresses to be added
to the address book at 1020. After obtaining the names and
corresponding addresses, the controller adds them to the address
book at 1040.
The integrated voice and visual messaging system described and
illustrated herein is readily adaptable to a plurality of messaging
formats, protocols, modulation schemes and system configurations.
Voice messages may be transmitted from a mobile communication
device such as a paging transceiver 140 or a mobile telephone 145
to an integrated message gateway for forwarding over the Internet
or other type of network to a personal computer or other visual
messaging device. Voice messages may be transmitted to the
integrated mail gateway in analog or digital format. Additionally,
voice messages may be pre-recorded at the mobile communication
device for non real-time transmission or real-time voice messages
may be transmitted to the integrated mail gateway for forwarding in
non real-time. The system is adaptable to various wireless
telephone systems and paging systems. The mobile communication
device may be configured in a mobile telephone, pager, wireless
PDA, or other wireless device which provides visual messaging and
includes means for voice communications.
While various embodiments of the present invention have been
described above, it should be understood that they have been
presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the
breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by
any of the above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be
defined only in accordance with the following claims and their
equivalents.
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